The Baltimore protests over Freddie Gray’s death, explained
7 Cards
EDITED BY German Lopez
2016-07-27 11:45:00 -0400
- The Baltimore protests erupted after Freddie Gray's mysterious death
- Freddie Gray died after he suffered a fatal neck injury in a police van
- Protests in Baltimore over Freddie Gray's death sometimes turned into riots
- Baltimore has a troubled history with police brutality
- Life expectancy in different Baltimore neighborhoods can vary by decades
- At the center of the Baltimore protests: racial disparities in the criminal justice system
- Police officers are rarely tried and convicted for use of force
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Card 1 of 7
The Baltimore protests erupted after Freddie Gray's mysterious death
Baltimore was roiled by weeks of tense protests after the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal cord injury while in police custody.
Gray's death and the protests it inspired once again placed a national spotlight on issues of race, justice, police brutality, and the deep distrust between minority communities and their local governments.
The protests came about almost immediately following Gray's death, as demonstrators marched to demand answers for what happened to the 25-year-old and to protest police brutality, of which Baltimore has a troubling history.
Baltimore protests over the death of Freddie Gray. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
The situation escalated as local authorities refused to release details in their investigation into Gray's death. Riots broke out on April 27, after Gray's funeral, drawing nationwide attention — and even comments from President Barack Obama — over the crumbling situation in the city.
But on May 1, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced criminal charges, including second-degree murder and manslaughter, against the six officers involved in Gray's arrest. The announcement calmed tensions in the city, as protesters felt that one of their main goals had been reached. (Ultimately, however, none of the charges stuck.)
Much of the anger during protests was focused on the lack of answers surrounding Gray's death, which persisted for weeks. As the investigation dragged on, many people felt that the local government and police were engaging in a cover-up to hide how Gray received the spinal cord injury that killed him and whether the officers that arrested him caused it.
But the protests and riots in Baltimore are also part of a much broader national debate about systemic problems that have existed for decades. The protests are specifically about one man in a very troubled neighborhood that gets a disproportionate amount of attention from police, but they also seek to bring attention to the police brutality that all too often afflicts black men in the US.
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Card 2 of 7
Freddie Gray died after he suffered a fatal neck injury in a police van
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Card 3 of 7
Protests in Baltimore over Freddie Gray's death sometimes turned into riots
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Card 4 of 7
Baltimore has a troubled history with police brutality
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Card 5 of 7
Life expectancy in different Baltimore neighborhoods can vary by decades
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Card 6 of 7
At the center of the Baltimore protests: racial disparities in the criminal justice system
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Card 7 of 7
Police officers are rarely tried and convicted for use of force